Environmental Health Science in the U.S.
Diverse Opportunities with Multiple Rewards

Integration of environmental consciousness has pervaded all aspects of society. Private industry and governments at all levels must maintain substantial programs to carefully manage the environmental impacts of their activities. This has resulted in a host of opportunities for the well-prepared professional. The work is both meaningful and important. Preparation as an environmental health professional can be done through completion of a four-year academic program in environmental health science. Academic programs that have met rigorous standards in environmental health science are recognized by the National Environmental Health and Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC). Graduates of these programs are well prepared to make important life-long contributions.

Environmental Health Science and Protection
People around the world have recognized that a healthy environment is paramount in maintaining and preserving a good quality of life. A degraded environment results in immediate threats to the health of the public. A degraded environment provides future generations with a world of less potential, and of less beauty. At this time of rapidly expanding global populations, internationalization of commerce, and rapid industrialization, contributions of environmental health scientists were never more important. Future and current generations are dependent on decisions made now.

Environmental health professionals must be prepared as scientists. For example, air pollution leaving an industrial smokestack must be understood from the aspect of chemistry (the composition of the plume), physics (where the pollutants will go) and biology (how the pollutant will affect life). However, understanding the problem is only a start. The challenge comes in preventing and mending problems within a web of science, politics, economics and quality of life issues. The environmental health scientist must be a problem solver. The key question always to address is how can the risk of adverse effect be minimized in a practical, productive way. Thus, educational preparation includes the social sciences and communications - the successful environmental health scientist works with the public, industry, and government to find the best approach to solve complex problems.

The origins of environmental health science are within public health, working with local communities protecting the environmental sanitation of food and water supplies. Coincident with the environmental movement of the 1970's, demand for environmental health scientists expanded to encompass such diverse fields as control of toxic chemicals, hazardous wastes, and air pollutants. Central to these opportunities was the need to involve environmental health scientists prepared as generalists, holding both a comprehensive understanding of basic scientific principles and the ability to integrate information to implement practical solutions to difficult problems.

Today, the environmental health scientist remains in demand to fulfil traditional roles, including that of a sanitarian in a local health department. Sanitarians perform both a regulatory and a educational function, often explaining to the public and others in their local communities how to provide necessary environmental protections. However, many other settings now demand the use of trained environmental health professions. Environmental toxicologists and epidemiologists explore the link between environmental quality and disease. Industrial hygienists work within the industrial workplace, evaluating risks to workers and implementing controls and programs to save lives. The rewards of the work are more than monetary - they involve making a contribution to the workplace, to the community, to the country, and even to the world.

Academic Programs
In the United States, 23 programs have been recognized as achieving excellence by the National Environmental Health and Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC). These programs (see accompanying table) all have curricula that are grounded in the basic sciences supplemented by specialized course work. All programs have an internship or other field-based experience as part of their educational curriculum, offering tremendous opportunity to gain practical knowledge about the working environment.

Accredited Environmental Health Programs in the United States

Preparation to enter these programs largely reflects high school emphasis on the sciences. After entering college, the typical student concentrates on general education and science preparatory courses for the first two years. The final two years spent pursuing the degree includes concentrated study in specialized courses on environmental health. Courses in such areas as water quality, air quality, food safety, toxicology, epidemiology, vector control, microbiology, industrial hygiene, environmental economics, and environmental law and regulatory policies make for an interesting and challenging curriculum . Typically it takes four years to earn a baccalaureate degree.

Most graduates of environmental health programs go directly to work, functioning effectively in professional capacities. Many go on to receive national or state certification such as "Registered Sanitarian" or "Registered Environmental Health Specialist." Other graduates elect to continue with their formal educations, pursuing master and doctorate degrees. The science- based curriculum also makes environmental health an excellent major for the student considering post-graduate professional school, such as in medicine.

Additional information about the accredited environmental health science programs in the United States is available at: http://depts.washington.edu/nehspac/. Programs are offered around the country, offering international students a variety of locales within a consistent academic framework. In addition to providing information about environmental health programs in general, the Web site provides links to each of the individual environmental health science programs. Each program offers its unique perspective within a consistent framework preparing the environmental health professional for a rewarding career.

Author
Gary Silverman, Professor
Environmental Health Program
Bowling Green State University
silverma@bgnet.bgsu.edu